The phrase “breast cancer” can be plenty scary–to the person who receives the diagnosis as well as to the family. But thanks to incredibly awareness campaigns and advances in medical technology, quite often, breast cancer is treatable. In this guest post, Jamie Pratt, sheds some much needed light on this disease.

For many of us, hearing the words breast cancer conjures up a dismal picture. Any form of cancer is a frightening thought, and breast cancer affects not only the stricken individual, but loved ones as well. Breast cancer awareness is designed to educate everyone, just as this unforgiving disease touches all walks of life. This awareness may be in the form of promotional items, educational websites and pamphlets, or simply word of mouth. Having access to the necessary tools, such as forums or cancer risk assessments, can make a difference. Annual mammograms, primarily for women past the age of 45, is essential in helping to detect breast cancer early on.

In what is will undoubtedly cause quite a stir, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) will change its policy on infant circumcision of boys, acknowledging that the health benefits of circumcision outweigh the risks. [Read more…]

The horrific shooting in Colorado has been so extensively analyzed that there’s almost nothing left to say. Almost. There are two issues that should be getting more attention.

First, we need to acknowledge that three of the victims were men who used their own bodies to protect their girlfriends. We’re going to hear a lot over the next months and years about how males are violent, but it’s important that we not forget that men are also heroic (far more often than they’re violent). Without giving a second thought to their own safety, Jon Blunk, Matt McQuinn and Alex Teves gave their lives so the women they loved could live.

With Men’s Health Month in the news, just about everyone knows that men live shorter (by about 5-6 years), less-healthier lives than women. Every year, hundreds of thousands of men die prematurely from thoroughly preventable causes. And millions more suffer injury, disability, and chronic illness that could have been prevented.

Given all that, you’d think that men’s health would be a major part of any discussion about healthcare reform. But it’s not. And that’s too bad, because even if you forget about the tragic loss of life (and quality of life), ignoring men’s health costs Federal and state governments and the private sector more than $300 billion per year.

Dear Mr. Dad: My girlfriend is pregnant. We’d talked about having children someday but hadn’t expected it would happen so soon. She wants to terminate the pregnancy. But all of a sudden I’m feeling very depressed. I really want to be a dad and her decision to have an abortion is going to put an end to that dream, at least for a while. I’ve always thought of myself as pro choice, but now that the decision affects me, I’m not so sure. Do I have a vote here?

A: Thanks for having the guts to write this. I try to stay out of politics, but this issue involves more than Pro Choice vs. Pro Life (it’s also one that I expect will generate criticism from both sides), so I’m weighing in.

Abortion has always been “women’s issue,” but we’ve forgotten (or, worse, maybe never even realized) that men, too, are deeply affected by the reproductive choices women make. The phrase “a woman’s right to choose” usually means her right to have an abortion. But having the right not to become a parent includes the right to become one if she chooses.

In what may go down as one of the most controversial—and most damaging—pieces of healthcare policy in decades, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force just issued a recommendation that men should no longer get routine screenings for prostate cancer. They believe that the test—called PSA, for the prostate-specific antigen it measures—does more harm than good. But health organizations say otherwise, citing data that the test saves lives.